Breathing
by Terez
Summary: Pepper's point of view after the missile attack in Iron Man 3


**Disclaimer: Iron Man is the property of Marvel and some dialog taken from Iron Man 3 **

**A/N: New fic requested by Ls11, I hope you all enjoy!**

**P.S. to those reading Interrupted, the story has been finished but the rating had to get bumped up from a "T" to an "M". And Interrupted: Avengers has been posted, so be sure to check those out :)**

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**Breathing**

"Tony!" Pepper shouts desperately again, struggling to breath through the smoke and dust, her hands still shaking from the adrenalin rush.

"Pepper!" Maya calls frantically behind her struggling to get through the wreckage

"Tony!" Pepper yells again, ignoring Maya's calls, it isn't the voice she wants to hear, so it isn't relevant. "Tony!" She cries, voice becoming hysterical, tears finally breaking through as her chest heaves painfully.

"Pepper get away from the edge!" Maya yells latching onto her arm, pulling her back from the cliff side.

"Maya I don't see him," Pepper tells her frantically, struggling to look out over the ocean as Maya pulls her over rocks and pieces of the house.

"Pepper it's okay," Maya tries to sooth her.

"Maya he could be drowning " _if he wasn't shot to hell_ a small part of her argues as tears continue to fall.

"We can't think like that Pepper." Maya pleads desperately with her, grabbing her by the shoulders, forcing her gaze from the ocean, her own face distraught. "He's fine, he has to be."

But it's all she can think about, even as the cops and paramedics arrive. Teeth clenched and knuckles white struggling to breathe even with the oxygen they've placed her on, she fights not have a full meltdown.

Somehow it's all worse than Afghanistan.

"Miss Potts," An officer calls, stepping from what's left of the house.

She's up before the paramedic can stop her; they'd already cleared her but asked she stayed on the oxygen until her breathing evened out. Throwing the mask back she stumbles on shaky legs terrified at what he might say, but needing to know. "Please," she begs, choking back tears not knowing what she wants to hear.

"Miss Potts please try to remain calm," he tells her, gently trying to steady her. "Our divers are still searching for Mr. Stark, I promise Miss. Potts, we'll find him. In the meantime if there's anything you would like to collect from the house it's cleared, but be careful." He pats her sympathetically before walking away.

Numbness sets in as he leaves her alone knowing nothing more, fighting back the fresh set of tears threatening to fall. With every second that passes and Tony is not found her hope fades with it.

Staring at their destroyed home she has little faith that anything survived the explosion, but for now it's the only connection she has to Tony.

Standing in the burned and charred remains of the house seems like some twisted nightmare. Finding it hard to believe that only hours ago they had been bickering, both equally stubborn. Tony had sacrificed his only form of protection for her, insisting she protect Maya over him, knowing he could pay the ultimate price for it.

And when her sight lands on something red and gold she clings to it as a last lifeline. The helmet feels impossibly heavy as she pulls it from blackened derbies the broken faceplate driving through her.

_Please_, she desperately begs of the hollow metal somehow feeling more connected to Tony thought it. Lifting it up she can't help but press it to her forehead to it, fighting to feel the ghost of his presence; _please_ she pleads again feeling her strength wavering.

And then, she hears a beep.

Faint at first, she almost certain she's hallucinating, but the red light flashing with in the mangled metal shines like a lighthouse through a storm. Hands shifting along the dented and scraped surface, she finds the safety releases along the sides as she flips it back over. The helmet expands at the manual command, collapsing back down once she slips it over her head.

"Stark secure server retinal scan verified," the companies automated computer system echoes around her head.

Then her knees buckle at the following voice, "Pepper it's me…" Heart hammering in her chest, tears fall as a large smile breaks through, she barely hears his apology, over come with emotion at the simple sound of his voice.

Finally, she can breath.

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**A/N: Please review :)**


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